U.S. Pat. No. 3,971,589 discloses an automobile trunk lid tie-down arrangement upon which the present invention constitutes an improvement.
More particularly, this invention seeks to provide a trunk lid holder which employs an extensible and retractable strap and buckle means of the type commonly used for automobile seat belts and safety harness. Such nylon straps and their hardware are more acceptable to automobile owners for the purpose or use intended herein for several reasons. The automobile owners are accustomed to manipulating the type of buckle structure employed and the strap and its attendant hardware can be made to blend nicely with the automotive decor which is of prime importance for any automotive attachment.
In addition to convenience of use and acceptability by automobile owners, the invention seeks to improve on the prior art in terms of the strength and reliability of the invention and greater freedom from rattling when the device is not in use. Features of the present invention which distinguish it from the prior art are the mounting on the underside of the trunk lid of a female strap buckle component carried by one leaf of a hinge whose other leaf is fixedly secured to the trunk lid. The movable hinge leaf is biased by a spring to lie snugly and firmly against a rear ledge of the trunk lid while the device is idle. The housing of the spring reel mounted strap is secured in an out of the way location in the bed of the trunk on the vertical wall of a trunk lid latch mounting bracket with the strap attached male buckle component facing upwardly.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent during the course of the following description.